Welcome to Common Gunsense

I hope this blog will provoke some thoughtful reflection about the issue of guns and gun violence. I am passionate about the issue and would love to change some misperceptions and the culture of gun violence in America by sharing with readers words, photos, videos and clips from articles to promote common sense about gun issues. Many of you will agree with me- some will not. I am only one person but one among many who think it's time to do something about this national problem. The views expressed by me in this blog do not represent any group with which I am associated but are rather my own personal opinions and thoughts.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Guns and elections

Elections matter. In the case of gun dealers and manufacturers, the 2008 election made them a lot richer. More guns were purchased at a higher price. See this article about the prices of popular guns coming down. Let's see. President Obama is elected and the panic about guns begins. Surely he will take our guns away. He is a Communist and a Socialist and the world as we know it is coming to an end. Get ready everyone. Be prepared to fight for your rights and fight against your own government if you have to. Everyone has a duty and a responsibility to protect their families in these uncertain times. Seriously. A local gun guy told me that last spring. He has a duty to keep and bear arms. It seems to me it should be a choice.

So I wrote in a previous blog about guns and the stockmarket and how stock went up in some of the public companies. Now it looks like the furor has died down. Has President Obama made any effort to confiscate guns? No. Have the "gun control" groups tried to take away guns? No. Have any "jack booted government thugs" knocked on the doors of private homes asking for their guns? No. What are jack boots anyway? A slur in my mind coming from those who hate the police, but see for yourself what the definition of the words are along with what some mean when they use those words. A letter to the editor in today's Duluth News Tribune titled: Taxpayers shouldn't pay for police to shoot people dead, says, " I guess, to many, it is OK if a 17 year-old is shot-as long as it is done by a jack-booted police officer."

So, jack boots are federal agents and police officers according to some in the NRA and on the far right who actually hate the government and any agency in charge of law enforcement. It suggests Nazi soldiers marching in lock step in Berlin. It suggests dark figures coming to get your guns. It suggests that if a police officer is involved, it must mean he or she is in the wrong. The jury is still out on the case in Duluth to which I referred in a previous post. Meanwhile, many letter writers have suggested that the officer in question had no choice given the circumstances. Police officers put their lives on the line every time they put their uniforms on. I happen to respect that and don't fear that they will show up at my door for my guns ( we only have 2 hunting guns safely locked up). Read this great blog by Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke about how difficult it is for even police officers to shoot accurately and the training required to make that difficult decision.

So back to the article about the price of guns going down; the comment made at the end of the article by a gun dealer was that when the election gets closer, the prices will likely go up again. What will happen at election time to make that happen? Of course, the angry rhetoric will start again about President Obama and the Democrats taking guns away even though the recent Supreme Court decisions won't allow any such thing. But the facts won't matter. The hate is ratcheting up; hate against Muslims building a Community Center/Mosque not at Ground Zero- blocks away; hate against Immigrants; Hate against law enforcement officers; hate against those who are different spawned by hyperbolic fear-mongering talking heads whose only interest is in their radio and television ratings and making big money. Times are uncertain. Times are worrisome for many reasons. But for that uncertainty and hateful talk to send some running out to their local gun store to stock up on deadly weapons is unwise at best. And to ramp up the talk at election time to gain votes is just plain inexcusable.

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